Twilight ~ A Demon Slayer Fanfiction

Chapter 36: Awake

Taeko Miyazaki

"Huh... what's going on?"

"Taeko's awake!"

"Taeko!"

The brunette female had taken notice of two familiar faces in front of her.  She rubs her eyes to see who they are.  Her eyes widened, seeing Kanjoro and Shinozuka in front of her.

"Kanjoro?  Shinozuka?"  Taeko had begun.  She then suddenly got pulled into a tight hug.  "You're okay, Taeko!  I thought you would never wake up!"  Kanjoro had exclaimed.  "Well... I'm here.  But... you both are squeezing me right now..."

"Oh, sorry.  Kanjoro, we should let go of her."

Both males had let go of the female, and she sighed softly.  However, a soft smile came on her face.  "I'm happy to see you both are okay.  I guess my wounds are a lot slower to heal than you both."  She said, scratching her head.  "So... is there anything I've missed?"  She had questioned.

"Well, if there's one thing you missed, we met up with Rinna and her friends earlier."  Shinozuka had pointed out.  Taeko then facepalmed.  "Curses... I should've met up with them too."

"But they wanted you to have your rest.  So, you don't need to worry about that."  Kanjoro had pointed out as well.  Taeko then looked around for a few moments.  "How long was I out for, exactly?"  Taeko had questioned.  "Me and Kanjoro woke up a few days ago.  So... about 5 days now?"  Shinozuka had stated, trying to calculate.  Taeko's eyes widened.  "I... I was out for that long?"

"Yeah, I believe so.  You were out cold for a while." Kanjoro had pointed out.

Taeko looked around once more.  She seemed... a bit worried about something.  "Where's my siblings?  Where's Zenitsu?  Where's everybody?"  She had asked.  "Whoa, slow down, Tae.  You just woke up.  Everyone's fine.  But they're worried for you too.  But we promised them that we'll keep watch on you until you woke up."  Shinozuka had stated, making Taeko sigh in relief.  "Thank goodness..."

"Shinobu, Kanae, and Tamayo are really great doctors.  Thanks to them, we're up and about."  Kanjoro had stated, making Taeko chuckle.  "I can tell.  Shinobu's treated my wounds several times too.  So, I get it."  Taeko then paused for a moment.  Kanae?  Wasn't she Shinobu's older sister?  Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Kanae at the door.  She smiled, seeing the trio.  She then walked over to Taeko.

"You're awake, dear.  How are you feeling?"  She had asked.  Taeko smiled a little.  So, this was Kanae, Shinobu's sister.  "I'm okay.  Thank you for asking."  Taeko had replied.  Kanae had chuckled.  "That's good.  I talked to my sister earlier.  She said that you can walk around and stand, as long as you don't run around too much."  She had stated.  "Speaking of walking around, the master wanted to see us outside."  Shinozuka had stated, crossing his arms.  Taeko then raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?  What for?"

"I'm not sure.  We're not in trouble or anything.  But I hope it's nothing serious."

"Well, the war did end.  I'm sure it's nothing too serious."  Kanae had stated, a closed eyed smile on her face.  Taeko then slowly stood up from the bed.  She stumbled a little but managed to regain her balance quickly.  "Take it easy, my dear."  Kanae had chuckled.  Taeko then took a deep breath, and she nodded.  "I'm okay.  Don't worry, I can walk."  She then turned to the other two.  "Come, let's get going."

But first, Taeko turned to Kanae.  She then bowed to her, knowing that she was once the master of the mansion.  "Thank you for patching my wounds, Miss Kanae."  Kanae had chuckled, the closed eyed smile remaining on her face.  "It was my pleasure, dear.  Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Taeko had waved to Kanae before leaving the room.  The trio then left the Butterfly Mansion, then heading outside.  "I know we're not in trouble, but... I can't help but feel nervous."  Taeko had said, smiling nervously.  Kanjoro had chuckled, patting her shoulder gently.  "Hey, don't overthink it.  We'll be alright."

As soon as they made it to the mansion of the leader of the demon slayers, the master was sitting there, a soft smile on his face.  "Hello, you three.  I'm happy to see you all here in one piece."  He had stated.  The three of them bowed in return.  "Thank you, master.  We're glad to see you here after all of this."  Kanjoro had admitted.  The master hummed and nodded with a smile.  "Thank you.  You all are aware that I called you all here, correct?"

"Yes.  But may I ask why?"  Taeko had questioned.  The master smiled softly, staying silent.  "Well, I've called some people here who you care about so dearly.  They wanted to see you after the long battle."  Taeko had tilted her head to the side, wondering who he was talking about.

"Kanjoro!"

"Shinozuka!"

Taeko had turned around to hear where that voice came from.  She then saw the expressions on the faces of both males turn into happy ones.  "Father!"  Both of them exclaimed at the same time.

It was Kanjoro's father, Minato.  And Shinozuka's father, Hikashi.  Taeko's heart melted, seeing Kanjoro hug his father tightly, tearing up.  As well as Shinozuka, hugging his father after seeing him for so long.  Taeko then looked around for a few moments.  Where were her siblings?  Weren't they going to be here too?

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?~"

Taeko then immediately turned around, knowing who it was.  Emotions took over her, seeing the faces of her siblings here.  Hiroshi, Emiko, and Hikari.  She then felt herself tearing up.  She then walked over to her siblings for a hug.  The next thing she knew, the four siblings were having a group hug.  Taeko was mainly hugging her brother, since he was taller than her by a little.  Her two sisters hugged Taeko by her waist.

After she pulled away from the hug, she then looked over at Kanjoro.  Her heart melted once more.  The Sound Hashira and his three wives had come by too.  They all pulled Kanjoro into a group hug as well.  White Fang had happened to be there as well, and Shinozuka hugged him as well.  Taeko's heart melted even more.

"Okay, bring it in here, Tae."  Hiroshi had said jokingly, while chuckling.  Taeko suddenly got pulled into a group hug once more with her siblings.  While the sibling group were hugging once more, Taeko's heard Shinozuka's voice call out to her.

"Hey Tae!  Your boyfriend's here!"

Taeko then pulled away from the hug, then seeing a familiar face standing not too far from where she was.  She covered her mouth in shock, knowing that her boyfriend was standing there.  In front of her.  She thought that this was a dream.  But this was a reality.  And she was glad it was.

"Zenitsu..."  She mumbled, tearing up once more.  She then glanced at her siblings.  "What are you standing there for?  Give him a hug!"  Hiroshi had pointed out, smiling widely.  Emiko and Hikari had nodded in excitement.  Taeko didn't know why, but she felt herself picking up the pace in her running all of a sudden.

And the next thing she knew, she felt herself in Zenitsu's arms, her face buried in his shoulder.  The hug was tight, as if the two hadn't seen each other in so long.  Taeko could barely speak, as she was already tearing up at this point.

"I... I thought I wouldn't see you again...!"  Zenitsu's voice was already cracking, as he held onto Taeko tightly.  The female's reply got muffled since her face was buried into his shoulder.

"You're going to make me cry too... stop it, Zenitsu...!"

The two of them cried together as the two hugged each other tightly.  Finally, there were finally reunited.  Despite it only being half a year, it felt an eternity.

And the two weren't going to let go of each other again.